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Why do I take foot photos?

As a photographer, I know that I tend to take photos when I reach the summit of a mountain. Even if clouds are obscuring my vision beyond five feet, I’ll take a photo, just to prove I’ve been there. Looking through my folders of photos, all safely stored on my external hard drive, I notice other trends in my picture taking. I like to take photos of food, glacial rocks, flowers, bumblebees, shadows, weird mushrooms, reflections, furry and feathered animals (usually blurry), and … my feet? Yes, I have a habit of photographing my feet. I realized this today and began collecting all the foot photos I could find on my hard drive. I ended up with 20 photos in 20 different locations. Why, you may ask. Good question. I could come up with a completely bogus philosophical essay about how my feet symbolize my love for hiking. The funny thing is that if I go back to the times that I took each individual foot picture, I think I took them for different reasons. I’ll give my best guess for the reasoning behind each foot photo in the caption of 12 select foot photos here.

By Aislinn Sarnacki. My foot on the door of Derek Runnells Subaru after falling while hiking down Cadillac Mountain via North Ridge Trail during the summer of 2010. Why: I’m taking a photo of my bloody leg, of course.

By Aisilnn Sarnacki. My feet in front of a campfire at Foster Field in Baxter State Park during summer of 2011. Why: I was testing my flash at night so I could take photos of my family around the fire. Yes, that is black toenail polish. My mom said that black fingernail polish makes me look “Gothic,” so I decided to paint my toenails instead for her.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My feet on Islesboro in the summer of 2009. Why: I really like my sandals and I was lying on a comfortable log sunning and didn’t want to get up to take a photo.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My feet at the natural watersides in Baxter Sate Park during the summer of 2010. Why: I thought my aunt’s 1980s water shoes were awesome.

By Aislinn Sarnacki. My feet in Speck Pond, the highest pond in Maine. Why: My feet have never been so happy to be dipped in cool water. I just climbed Speck Mountain, elevation of 4,170 feet)

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My feet on Mount Abraham in summer of 2009. Why: It was a really muddy trail and I felt like complaining via photo.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My feet on Knife Edge, Mount Katahdin, in the summer of 2011. Why: I don’t know, but I don’t think it was a good idea that I took a photo while walking on Knife Edge.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. Snowshoeing buddy Derek Runnells and I take a break while walking around Mount Hope Cemetery in Veazie during the winter of 2010-11. Why: I’m fond of my snowshoes? I’m not sure why I took this photo.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My foot on a ladder on Beehive Trail on Mount Desert Island during the summer of 2009. Why: I was trying to get the view looking down. I probably shouldn’t take photos while climbing ladders, either.

Photo by Aisilnn Sarnacki. I introduce hiking buddy Ben Robie into the art of foot photos. We are sitting on a ledge on Knife Edge during the summer of 2010. Why: It’s my favorite spot on Knife Edge because you can sit down and dangle your legs over a drop that is more than 1,000 feet with no danger of falling.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My feet on the ladder of the old fire tower on the summit of Big Spencer Mountain during the summer of 2009. Why: Not really sure about this one. I was trying to get a better view of the surrounding terrain, but not necessarily a view of the ladder.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My foot on the summit “sign” of Sugarloaf Mountain during the summer of 2009. Why: I was hiking alone and I wanted to prove that I had been to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, which is actually the second highest peak in Maine.

If you’re wondering, I will continue to take foot photos, but now I’ll be more aware of what I’m doing and I’m afraid the photos won’t be as candid. I guess that makes this album a gem.

Photo by Aislinn Sarnacki. My feet on Mount Abraham in summer of 2009. Why: It was a really muddy trail and I felt like complaining via photo.